The white stucco building housing Brooke’s Good Deeds stands on the side of the sleepy two-lane State Route 169 in Moapa Valley, about 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Blink and you could easily miss it as you drive between Interstate 15 and Valley of Fire State Park, where the Muddy River crosses a 15-mile frontage of green farmland, modest homes, and small businesses in the coalescing small towns of Glendale, Logandale, and Overton.
Other days, your eyes may be drawn to hundreds of people lined up out the front door.
A nonprofit food pantry, Brooke’s Good Deeds is a beacon of hope for those in need in the Moapa Valley community, partnering with area organizations to offer food assistance, mental health services, tax preparation, and other much-needed resources to more than 2,400 people of all ages — for free.
Founders Shanna and Gary McPheters opened the Logandale location in 2019 to memorialize their 15-year-old daughter Brooke (Brookelynn), who was killed by a drunk driver while walking home from shopping in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2013.
“We do it 100 percent to honor Brookelyn,” Shanna McPheters says, explaining that the teen was heavily involved in community service. A cadet senior airman in the ROTC, Brooke donated her hair to Locks of Love every year, starting at age 8. She volunteered at the local library, animal control, museum, and at Children’s Lunchbox, where she became a full-time employee.
Brooke’s Good Deeds was closed during a recent visit, but the couple was busy working inside, having returned that morning from a memorial walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Gary stocked a freezer and Shanna, a former teacher, put finishing touches on back-to-school treat bags for kids.
Several shelves in a storage room were lined with grocery bags, filled with healthy items like low-salt canned goods, bread, and vegetables for Golden Groceries, a program for seniors over 60. Some of these bags, as well as nutritious frozen meals, are delivered to seniors, while others are picked up in person.
About 77 percent of the food pantry’s clients are seniors, according to a Three Square Food Bank database, so Brooke’s assists with tasks like housecleaning services, medical deliveries, and transportation to doctor’s appointments. Shanna is certified through Dignity Health to teach a pre-dementia/cognitive stimulation class on-site.
“The seniors get forgotten, and it’s just not right,” she says. “I mean, they’re affected by inflation just as much as everybody, and there’s no way for their income to increase.”
Open Monday and Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon, the main food pantry caters to people of all ages with a wide variety of foods, most of which are donated by Three Square, the local LDS church, and Lin’s grocery store in Overton, or purchased by Brooke’s.
Before food items can spoil, Brooke’s donates them to the Mesquite Senior Center for the homeless community that lives by the river between Mesquite and Bunkerville, about 35 miles away.
Shoppers can also pick up feminine hygiene products, donated by Las Vegas-based Project Marilyn, and children’s books, donated by Spread the Word Nevada. Vendor booths offer community resources, such as vaccine clinics and medical screenings.
Overton resident Melanie Deemer, 63, calls Brooke’s Good Deeds “a godsend.” She struggles to keep up with the economy: “It’s expensive to live in this world.”
In the past, when she ran out of money, Deemer was more concerned about feeding her dog than herself. “Brooke’s Good Deeds has made such a difference for me,” she says. “I never feel afraid or worried about groceries these days.”
Deemer was embarrassed to ask for help at first, but now she is eager to spread the word. “They are all about service, and that’s a good thing,” she says. “It helps me to help others.”
The store is entirely volunteer-run. Even Shanna and Gary don’t earn an income, living off of Gary’s retirement. Many volunteers are LDS missionaries or dedicated community members. Each is required to complete an application, and drivers do elder abuse and AARP driver training. They also must provide auto insurance and get a background check.
“We just want everybody to be safe,” Shanna says. As a large photo of Brooke looks on from the wall of the pantry, she says, “We get to say her name all the time, constantly, and so we feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to do that.”
